in singapore, i think we're too sheltered. been here for a little more than four months, and i've learnt an awful lot about the world.
i've seen an inconvenient truth, and it's a grim truth. we're depleting all we know of earth, and the effects will be catastrophic. temperatures will rise to unbearable levels; most of the san francisco bay area will be submerged when the ice caps melt; in india, 50 degrees celcius days may not be record anymore; the entire landscape of the earth could change.
i've seen sand and sorrow, and heard human rights activist and former Clinton administration official John Prendergast speak about the genocide in darfur. over two and a half million people have been displaced from their homes, and an estimated 450,000 are dead. these figures are rough estimates because the sands of the sahara routinely bury bodies. the sudanese government is corrupt and evil, and have armed the janjaweed militia so they can travel from village to village, raping burning looting killing non-arab muslim africans. refugee camps along the borders of chad and darfur house the people who have been displaced. they receive aid, and all they want now is protection, so they can go back and rebuild their villages. women leave the safety of the camps to get firewood so they can cook, and very often, they are raped. i've heard people speak of the reluctance of various governments to impose sanctions on the sudanese government, forcing them to take action to stop this genocide. i'm infuriated at the indifference of the world, a decade after the painful genocide in rwanda.
i'm going to hear norman finkelstein, acclaimed author, speak about the conflict between israel and palestine. i'm eager to hear what he has to say, because he believes in a free palestine.
singapore is a snowglobe. i've travelled far, and picked up plenty of amazing opportunities along the way. i've heard amazing speakers who are convicted to their causes, i've witnessed passion. i'd hate to go home to indifference and apathy. maybe singapore doesn't attract a bunch of fancy-schmancy speakers, maybe singaporeans just don't care enough because it isn't happening to us. (and it well can happen to us)
